In Minneapolis, Amy Rice feared for her dog’s life when a pit bull jumped over a fence into her yard and attacked her pooch. So she took matters into her hands and sank her teeth into the K-9 intruder. Rice says she bit the pit bull on the nose after trying to pull the dog’s jaws off her Labrador retriever, Ella. The dog had jumped a fence to get into Rice’s northeast Minneapolis yard, and Rice says she feared the pit bull would kill her dog. Rice says she drew blood when she bit the dog, and her doctor will have to determine whether she should get shots for rabies. Ella is recovering with staples and stitches to her head and a crushed ear canal. Strat lifting In Maine, police are searching for a man accused of shoving an electric guitar in his pants and walking out of a store. Local police say they’re looking for three men. One of the men shoved a Fender Stratocaster in his pants and pulled a sweatshirt over the top of the instrument. The other two acted as lookouts. All three can be seen on footage from video surveillance. Strangely enough, the music shop has seen this before. A man did the same thing in 2006 but was caught as he tried to walk out with a banjo in his pants.

Halvsies

In Serbia, a farmer ordered by a court to share his possessions with his ex-wife made it quite clear what he thought his former spouse deserved. The man used a grinding machine to cut in half his farm tools and machines. Branko Zivkov, 76, told Belgrade Daily Kurir he had been ready to give his wife Vukadinka her equal share of everything earned during their 45-year marriage, but was furious at being asked to give away half his farming equipment, which she had no use for. The halved equipment included large items such as cattle scales, a harrow and a sowing machine. “I still haven’t decided how to split the cow,” he told the newspaper. “She should just say what she wants — the part with the horns or the part with the tail.”

Played dead

In Spain, a burglar that broke into a funeral home tried to fool police by playing dead. Unfortunately, two things gave him away. First was the fact that the thief was clearly breathing. Secondly, he was wearing dirty clothes rather than the Sunday best of those dressed for eternal rest. Police and the Crespo Funeral Home said they have no idea what the 23-year-old Spanish man was trying to steal in the break-in in Burjassot, a small town just outside Valencia.

Bargain

Worried about the weak dollar’s impact on your vacation? You may want to check out Harry’s Bar in Venice, Italy. The famed Venice watering hole where Ernest Hemingway held court over hearty food and stiff martinis is now offering a discount to “poor” Americans suffering from a weak dollar and sub-prime mortgage crisis. The decision by the owner of the restaurant, one of the most expensive even when the U.S. currency is strong, highlights growing unease about the weak dollar among tourism operators in Italy and elsewhere in Europe.

Nice catch

In Florida, a two-year-old girl fell three stories from a resort walkway and safely into the arms of a man who had been reading a book by the pool and raced to make a lifesaving catch. The falling toddler’s momentum sent both crashing into a bush, but the girl only suffered a bump and some scratches. “I just happened to be at the right place at the right time,” Alan Burns, 43, told local reporters.

Busty

Italian police are looking for a 46-year-old woman who slipped out of her hospital bed following breast augmentation surgery and disappeared. Doctors say that apart from the unpaid bill that the woman skipped out on, they are also concerned for her health. Italian police are telling area residents to be on the lookout for a large-breasted woman. Wild Turkeys In Wisconsin, mail carriers are under attack. But this time it’s not dogs, it’s turkeys. Postal workers in Owen Conservation Park are being pestered by wild turkeys like never before. About five to 10 of the birds have been pecking at the postal workers as they make their rounds. Some of the birds have attacked the letter carriers with the sharp spurs on their legs and drawn blood. One of the birds went through the open door of a mail truck and scratched the driver. Postal authorities are seeking help from Eric Lobner, the regional wildlife program supervisor for the state Department of Natural Resources. Lobner said the behavior is clearly tied to the breeding season.

Beer heist

In the Milwaukee area, authorities are searching for three men who stole about $24,000 worth of beer from a trucking company. The suspects pulled up to the Hribar Trucking site at about 2 AM in stolen semi tractors, Mount Pleasant police said. They were trying to hook a trailer full of Miller Brewing Co. beer to the tractors when they were interrupted. The men then fled, taking a different tractor-trailer rig full of Miller beer, and a semi tractor with no load attached. Police are looking for a white semi-trailer with blue lettering reading “Great Taste of a True Pilsner Beer” and a white Freightliner semi tractor. And two inebriated suspects.